In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Agnes Creek Yurt
12 February 2010 - 14 February 2010
It is the 2nd year in a row for us for this trip and Chris and Mary Malley are joining us.
Saturday, February 12th
We met Chris and Mary at Ted’s Place and are driving west up Poudre Canyon by 9:30 AM. The road was mostly dry and definitely not icy as it has been on other trips.
It took exactly 2 hours to get to the State Forest / State Parks information center near Gould which was closed due to the state having a furlough day. So we pressed on to the Michigan Creek Trailhead so Chris and Mary could purchase a the required daily parks pass. Then back up Hwy 14 toward Cameron Pass and the trailhead for the Noqhu Crags Campground TH. The trailhead is just a pull-off on the side of the highway but it is plowed.
It takes us about 45 minutes to get ready. I do get everything in one load, so that is a good start. Away we go. Chris has minor gear problems with his sled harness but that is soon resolved. There is a sign on the road – “no wheeled vehicles “ and I take a picture of our group as we ski by.
While waiting, my thoughts were on the reproduction currently on my desk calendar at home: a bright flat-colored landscape – and that I have resolved and resolved that if I want to draw and paint I need to just create the time to ‘do it’. I like doing outdoors stuff but I do need to make time for this other stuff that I imagine I would like to do.
So up we go. The haul sleds always work nicely on these roads. Agnes Creek is 2 miles in, just right for this old body. It takes us around 2 hours and 3 quarters of it is uphill. I am out of shape, move slowly, and can’t seem to find a rhythm and keep stopping. About the last 30 minutes I need to stop and eat and drink but resist. Big mistake.
I manage to keep going and finally reach the ‘avalanche chute’, easily crossed, and now I am at the trail junction for the cabins. Now there is a bit of downhill. My sled gets hung up on the gate which is corrected after a few minutes of fiddling. I continue on though my sled appears to be headed at an odd angle. I look back and notice only one pole is attached. But since it’s only feet to the cabin door, I continue to the door and unload. Luckily the pole is only unscrewed. And I am here!
It has been snowing the whole time. The temperature is about 20 degrees, much more temperate than the below zero temps of last January.
A year ago, this trip was when I was still at ICAT and has just decided to look elsewhere for work. Last year’s trip was in January – much colder and the days were incredibly short. Now, I have been at Dot Hill for a year, a much better place for me.
Sunday, February 13th 2010
We woke up to at least 6 inches of new snow. It’s colder out, around zero. But the sky is bright and the sun is out. But I did not get up today, due to feeling pretty worn out. It’s not that I do not want to ski, I am just toast.